20th November
Sudden realisation hit today. We have been slowly...very slowly travelling up the East coast. If we continue in the same vein then we may never reach Cape Reinga at the top of North Island. We still have three weeks, (sounds ages but our days are just flying by) before getting back to Picton (Wellington) and the ferry to South Island on the 12th December. So a big decision today. Forgo any other sightseeing opportunities for now and drive the 768 km to Cape Reinga, although we may do a stop at Auckland for Dolphin and Whale watching.
So this post will be short, sweet and to the point.
At Opotiki we stopped briefly for a food shop and diesel. Searched in vain for a dump point and discovered this place didn't have one. What there was further alongSH2 was an effluent dump which served as a motorhome service point. There was a slight wait for another chap to finish emptying his loo, he drove off, we pulled in. No sooner had Ian switched off the engine when a blooming great cattle truck arrived, and came as near as he could to the Toy, Blimey, how was Ian going to get out and more to the point, what would the smell be like as the trucker dumped the effluent! Ian did get out..just. I stayed where I was and made sure every window was properly shut. Poor Ian was stuck outside with the pong!
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| Well and truly hemmed in! |
The drive was long, we did roughly 220 km. Toll roads were the bane of our life in and around Tauranga. Thankfully we could make detours around them. Tauranga was huge, it even had a port and airport. Shame the weather turned nasty, so much rain and spray that trying to take pictures was just hopeless. Eventually we stopped at a place called Omokoroa Beach not far off the HS2. SH2 (Thanks Marilyn, as she pointed out these roads are NOT high speed rail) It's a car park near the boat club and a cafe nearby. Designated spaces for motorhomes were near the café, but downside, the toilets were a bit of a walk away across very sodden ground.
I mentioned the Pohutukawa tree yesterday. Today we saw several already in bloom. No wonder the Kiwi's call it the Christmas Tree.
And some photos of the journey
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| Yet more landslides |
4 comments:
Irene it is rather easy to drive from Auckland to Wellington in a one day. Last month I drove the rental motorhome from Palmerston North to Whangarei in 9 hours. I think you have plenty of time without having to rush
Hi Tom, Trouble with us is we take loads of time seeing places and walking that we forget the time factor. There is still so much more of North Island to do and the last thing we wanted to miss out on was the bit right at the top. So the plan was to get to Cape Reinga as quickly as possible and then slowly work our way back.
Hi Irene,
I really like your 'stop and look thoroughly' mode of travel - you have already seen more of the country than most holiday makers do, whether they are tourists or NZers. You truly look and see, whereas many people just do a once over lightly. So keep doing what you are doing, especially as you head north of Auckland.
The road names are SH for State Highway, fyi. Using HS makes them sound like that bloody railway in the UK - and you know there is nothing high speed about our roads here!
Make sure you leave a couple of days for staying with us on your way south!
Mxx
I realised the HS mistake after posting and then forgot to alter it (: Must try harder. We can either see you at Waikanae or meet up at Tongaporutu. Bring scissors...I need a haircut. Xxx
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